Concord Hymn

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Photo: Kirk Heflin BY the rude bridge that arched the flood,  Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,  Here once the embattled farmers stood  And fired the shot heard round the world.  The foe long since in silence slept;  Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;  And Time the ruined bridge has swept  Down the dark stream which seaward creeps. On this green bank, by this soft stream,  We set to-day a votive stone;  That memory may their deed redeem,  When, like our sires, our sons are gone.  Spirit, that made those heroes dare  To die, and leave their children free,  Bid Time and Nature gently spare  The shaft we raise to them and thee. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) (The Battle of Concord was fought on April 19, 1775, the start of the American Revolutionary War)

The Deep Touch of God's Grace

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“God’s grace is not a static attribute whereby He passively accepts hardened, unrepentant sinners. Grace does not change a person’s standing before God yet leave his character untouched. Real grace does not include, a Chafer claimed, ‘the Christian’s liberty to do precisely as he chooses.’ True grace, according to Scripture, teaches us ‘to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:12). Grace is the power of God to fulfill our new covenant duties (cf. 1 Cor. 7:19), however inconsistently we obey at times. Clearly, grace does not grant permission to live in the flesh; it supplies power to live in the Spirit.”

MacArthur, John. “A Look At The Issues.” The Gospel According to Jesus. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2008. P. 46

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